- Probably the best use of light
and shadow you’ve ever seen in a game
- Great tension and arsenal of moves and equipment
- Control actually makes sense
- Promise of downloadable content with Xbox Live
- Solid AI

- Some pretty strict mission
requirements and eerily human enemy AI can cause a great deal of
frustration

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Splinter Cell

Score: 9.5 / 10

Sam Fisher will undoubtedly go down as one
of gaming’s great characters, joining the likes of Lara Croft, Mario,
Gabriel Knight, Solid Snake, and Sonic the Hedgehog – the kind of
character that geeks among us will talk about long after Splinter Cell
(SC) and its inevitable sequels (or prequels) have been swallowed by
time.

Sam Fisher: family man and part of a super secret organization of the
National Security Agency, Third Echelon. Fisher is an older character,
probably in his late 40’s, called into action after two CIA operatives
go missing in Eastern Europe. As usual things spiral out of control –
with thanks to an evil Canadian computer hacker (A Canadian villain? Yay!)
– and Sam is front and center, jetting all over the globe trying to
avert some pretty major problems.

Fisher is no rookie. He’s been a splinter cell long enough to realize
the value of protecting America at any cost using his 5th Freedom –
using whatever is required

to achieve his objectives. As such, he has
a lot of moves no wet-behind-the-ears recruit could dream of.

Foremost is Fisher’s ability to split jump, which is excruciating to
watch but fun to perform. This is a move so effective that getting the
drop on an enemy is almost unfairly balanced in Fisher’s favor. The same
can be said of Fisher’s available inventory which includes

For some missions the goggles become your best tool for avoiding
detection while being able to scout an area. Turn off the light in a
room (or better, shoot them out) and switch to night vision. Then watch
enemies enter and attempt to turn on the lights. It’s already too late
for the enemy – Fisher has him in a sleeper hold. He drags him further
into the room then gives him a solid knock to the head. (It’s enough to
make one afraid of the dark again.)

This is what SC is all about – becoming a shadow, blending into darks
corners, and avoiding light as you carry out your assignments with
lethal (or non-lethal) methods. If you want straight action like Serious
Sam, Max Payne, BloodRayne or TimeSplitters 2, you’ll only be
disappointed with SC where stealth is rewarded and run and gun tactics
will meet with mission failure. Often Fisher will have to bide his time,
waiting for just the right moment to slip past a camera and crack
someone into unconsciousness. But expect to see the familiar “mission
failed” screen because death can be found at every turn and some
missions are insanely difficult.

This is in part why I can’t give SC a perfect score (even though I’d
highly recommend it to anyone). Everything about SC’s presentation, –
you’ve never seen a more perfect blend of light and shadow than this –
control, and story is great but the sheer frustration arising in some
missions was enough to make me want to forget about SC. The checkpoint
saves are logically placed but ducking through the shadows and avoiding
detection to reach them can be extremely difficult. I had to play some
sections dozens of times before I met with success.

This can be attributed to two factors: the entirely too human AI and the
strict mission objectives.

For example, Fisher has to infiltrate a CIA building unarmed (although
he eventually does get a gun). This means any lights without a visible
switch can’t be shot out. Any areas that could be made safe ambush areas
and hiding places, can’t – creating one mother of a tough mission. That
being said, a certain amount of suspense is involved. There were times I
realized I was holding my breath as I tried to avoid detection. Still,
all the suspense in the world can’t make the frustration go away after
the 30th attempt at a mission.

Splinter Cell oozes cool and sophistication from it’s lead character
through it’s many and varied levels, and very slick control scheme.
Basically, Splinter Cell is a great game (even with the difficulty
level) and one worth playing through many times over – and with promised
downloadable content via Xbox Live you could be playing this one for a
long time.